6564269 There are a few...

6564596 because when I use the importer things get messed up, so I have to manually alter things and format it for Fimfic. You can read the finish story through gdocs.

Shit, what a cliffhanger, ass.
Awesome job on this chapter dude, awesome job well done!

Keep it up dude, and I shall see you, next chapter!

6565605
You could always read the gdoc versions

I was guessing that this had been Tarot’s bedroom once upon a time; there were still quite a few boxes of old toys and the like.

I want Blackjack to voice her relations to Marigold and Tarot to the others.

I suspected that the cake was a lie.

38.media.tumblr.com/60a8492050ea33911ad192ee919d8d9d/tumblr_nip14cBZUr1rtgl9ho1_500.gif

“This is impossible. There must be some kind of mistake!” She sat down hard and wailed, “My life is ruined!”

Project Horizons; now with more Dash. The catch phrases are a feature not a flaw.

So long, suckers! F&F.

F&F? Oh no... Flim and Flam.

“For which Hippocratic research denies any and all liability,” Flam muttered softly.

Capitalize.

6568086
I don't cause I know I would not get shit done till I finished it. Also, leaving comments is a compulsion of mine. I just... have to do it.

6571738 I have headcanon of Blackjack being in stable 2. She teased Littlepip relentlessly, but liked her enough to agree to help her drag Velvet Remedy back by her mane. I'm pretty sure she would have died in Canterlot or something.

Having to go take a leak is a great incentive to move your flank isn't it?

that the cake was a lie

HA I get it.

“‘Course. It wouldn’t be Hoofington otherwise,”

Single extra apostrophe.

Fucking killing joke, how is that going to be cured/resolved. Although Glory becoming Rainbow Dash in appearance was snickerly great.
P-21 doesn't seem too phased out about Priest, damn.

Damn it, Blackjack! You never ever EVER test out a elevator by tauntingly jumping on it again and again! EVER!

From the number of waxy and warped bones lying at the base of the tree, I suspected that the cake was a lie.

Jajaja Portal reference

6573046 That's actually an apostrophe.

Ah, such a fun stretch the trip to Manehattan was. And the big break in tone there is nice in that it's delineating a big change, at least on the surface, of the focus of Blackjack's problems away from breaking down physically.

6575154
Thanks for spotting that, corrected. Whoops.

6577274 Because unlike the Lightbringer, there were many who didn't like what Blackjack had done while trying to save the hoof. Her survival would have torn the valley apart between those that supported her and knew what she did and those who would want to punish her. Remember, most people didn't know, or believe, in the Eater of Souls. They thought all she did was interrupt a megaspell or something. If people had known that Blackjack had kids, they would be targeted for retribution by the many people upset with her. And Blackjack, honestly, would have let them kill her after everything she went through. She was that depressed. So it had to be a secret. She could never be the 'real' Security. Her kids grew up thinking Grace was their mother. How upsetting would it be to learn the truth? How endangering? So Blackjack stayed away, aside from momentary 'checks' to make sure her lineage was doing okay.

6578842 Blackjack loses everything, and then has to fight to save everything that's left. If she wanted to die, she'd die. The Eater would consume her and everything else. But she doesn't want to. In spite of losing so much personally, she still wants to save others. That's what Security does. It's what Security means. And Blackjack will do it, because she can, because someone has to. And though it costs her her life, she will continue.

Blackjack's survival in the blank was due to her telling Pythia to ask the stars for any help they can give. They gave it, and now she gets to live... just like the legate. Centuries. Millennium. Till she finally breaks and kills herself, or turns evil, or something else takes her out. She'll walk the long hard road for a very long time, all to settle a wager among the stars.

6579311 Spoilers

I hate ninja updates
These last four chapters slipped under my radar and went unnoticed until now...
Annoying, but still i eagerly await more

Tally ho!

I told myself I'd read chapters only as they were uploaded here so I wouldn't overwhelm myself with reading 18 hours a day. Well, now that I caught up and can't read this 18 hours a day anymore I regret this decision D:

scorposprites

Oh god it's this world version of a cazador isn't it

That kiss scene was funny

Good golly miss Molly. Blackjack would give Shinji Ikari a run for his money in self loathing.
Other than that I want to finish this story but it just keeps building itself to just be a depressing ending. Why can't we have nice things again?

“Am I interrupting?”

orig12.deviantart.net/27f2/f/2012/053/9/6/morning_at_star_house_by_mistermech-d4ql9jz.jpg

“Well, now I have a better idea why the world blew up like it did.”

Seriously, Flim and Flam were annoying in the show, but this was the first time I actually was glad to see them get their just rewards for what they did as seen in the next chapter.

Under 20k. No wonder this one felt short.

>Portal jokes

Not even once.

I feel like Scotch is really coming into her own as a character. I have a much clearer idea of who she is, equal parts mechanic, comic relief and irascible filly. That scene of her and Precious sleeping was just adorable. :3 I really wish we could have seen what's going on with her, though. I mean, Rainbow Dash shows up at the Fluttershy Medical Clinic with a half-dead filly and an alicorn. I'm sure that's loads of fun right there! :V

Precious used to be a unicorn? I'd totally forgotten. When does she lose her horn?

7158677
My impression is that it's something that was never very important, and forgotten all around. To the extent she lost it, I'd call it a forgetting on the part of the universe, a pure retcon. She was never a unicorn, and we have always been at war with Eastasia. In the context of Homelands, she probably always needed to be an earth pony/dragon hybrid for balance issues.

tie blackjack in a helicopter and make her shit, wait, she eats iron right? she has a stomach that processes it right? then time to go to the bathroom should be torture

Flim and Flam. Need I say more?

... I suspected that the cake was a lie.

Once again, shut up and take my money, you magnificent bastard!

ok. if a scorposprite is indeed supposed to be like the Cazador of this world, then does that mean we may end up meeting this worlds version of a Cazaclaw? i pray for mercy to any whomever have to face something like that. Cazador's are, alone, bad enough. the Deathclaw, alone, is bad enough. but from images alone that ive saw of Cazaclaw... that is a big pile of nope. also, fantastic story so far Somber.

giggle at the ghosties?

I suspected that the cake was a lie.

The famous Portal reference!

Nightstalkers

And now we have DoA references?

They died...protecting money...wtf

But still, I think RD Glory is the best.
Anypony in the wasteland that can break the sound barrier is awesome in my books.

Seriously? A chapter back I said everything she touches turns to Explodium. And now...

From the number of waxy and warped bones lying at the base of the tree, I suspected that the cake was a lie.

I'll admit, I was not expecting that when I started reading this. I guess I shouldn't be surprised it happened, but I was pleasantly caught off guard. Normally you see that one coming from a mile away.

I got finished reading and thought to myself 'Hey, I've been dedicatedly reading this for 2 weeks now. Over 30 long chapters of character development and story, surely I am nearing the end. How many chapters left?'

... I did not realize I was not even half way done. Geese man, you but some serious work into this didn't you?

8286157
Yup. It's really 3 novels mashed into one. If I'd been smarter, I'd have cut them out and written them separately.

There were also rusted metal drums all over the place; most had split open long ago, but more than a few were still oozing rainbow-colored gunk. We tried to avoid any tree that had the rainbow gunk on it; it seemed to create even larger and more bizarre versions of the strange leafless plants. One actually appeared to have slices of cake hanging from the ends of its limbs. From the number of waxy and warped bones lying at the base of the tree, I suspected that the cake was a lie.

REALLY!!!!!!!!!

“Sure… after I get my cutie mark!” Scotch said very matter-of-factly. “Face it, nopony wants a toilet cutie mark. I mean the only thing worse would be like a pile of poop cutie mark. That’s about it.”

i like to think that Scotch Tape will get a Cutie Mark that looks like a wrench...or maybe...a roll of tape!

I must be as sick in the head as the Killing Joke because exploding Blackjack had me giggling for far too long.

"Kitty birds" is my new favorite thing.

Internal memo: 10-23-11: Goodbye> Well, dust off your resumes, because you’re all fired effective tomorrow! That’s right. Let Applejack or whoever the hell is director now deal with this mess. My brother and I are off to sunny Porca Porca where the beaches are warm, the local swine friendly, and the extradition treaties nonexistent. So long, suckers! F&F.

/sarcasm Great! Now I have the image of a pony f***ing a pig stuck in my head!

From the number of waxy and warped bones lying at the base of the tree, I suspected that the cake was a lie.

YES! PORTAL FOR THE WIN LOL

8976493

Is that how haybacon was invented?

Two unicorn stallions grinned out as they lifted an apple in seeming tribute.

I am actuall proud of myself figuring them out immediately.

Also a reason why you do not give in-universe laws away: sum of square roots of mass and distance is equal to energy required. So my question is why not make small teleports (as far as eye can see for example) to use a small portion of energy needed. Even if you say that they didn't want to be spotted on their way, then walk 1 mile then teleport, that saves a lot of energy too. Or if everyone in a group is considered as one mass why not teleport everyone individually to spend 1/6 of what they used.

What does it mean when the sanest one of us is the alicorn who’s the depository for Celestia-knows-how-many-ponies’ unhappy memories?

Maybe that’s why she’s the boring one?
Wouldn’t surprise me if Lacunae is going to have a breakdown, too, sooner or later.

What is wrong with me, I thought as I clenched my eyes shut. Get up! Move your legs, you fucking loser! You fucking reject! You couldn’t save Scoodle! You couldn’t save 99! You can’t save anypony lying in bed, you dumbass! Move! Move! Go! Do what you have to do! Do it!

camo.fimfiction.net/uXE2HHzm7xIQ-XTGI-xc2YVO2UDqCMr5GcOmXhhofWI?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ibb.co%2FRbn2Kdg%2Fneverending-circle3.png

When I started this story, I was worried that all the bad stuff that happens to the characters would eventually be too much and made me stop reading it.

Turns out it was wrong. It’s not the dark the stuff but the repetitiveness that is slowly becoming my biggest issue with the story. By now I’ve read probably more than a dozen scenes like this. Several hundreds of words about Blackjack being miserable and loathing herself. It’s the same stuff over and over and over again.

The first few times I felt bad for Blackjack. Now I just wanted this to be over as quickly as possible so that we can move on to more interesting stuff.

Stepping back inside a moment later, I looked at the strange unicorn filly. She looked back at me. “Can’t sleep either?” I whispered, glancing at Scotch. The hybrid gave a little shrug. “Don’t talk much?” She resumed staring at me.

I just realized that we never have heard Scotch and Precious talking with each other. Neither do we know that exactly happened during their first encounter or what Scotch said to her, that managed her to switch sides. I hope this will be explain in great details in some future chapters. Otherwise you would’ve to read Homelands if you want to get at least get a little glimpse of their first meeting.

“It’s not time to give up,” I whispered, not sure where the words were coming from as I rested my cheek on the strings. “You’ve come so far, and you have so much farther to go.” I stared at my reflection, at my cutie mark. “Priest wouldn’t want you like this. He knew you shouldn’t be here, alone, hating yourself. You know what you need to do… so… get off your rump and do it,” I said to my own reflection as I held the contrabass in my hooves.

Blackjack getting herself out of her misery hole. That’s a new one! Didn't expect that.

“The pretty yellow pony lady talked him into it. I guess ponies and dragons don’t mix.” She looked at her spade-tipped tail.

Notshy seems to be his Sanguine’s Shoulder Angle. I’m glad that she more than just a walking meme.

But I guess when some big ship blew up… well, he went crazy. He said that if some program thingy was blowed up, then nothing would stop some bad thing in the city from coming out and eating everypony or something. I didn’t really pay attention, though. A whole lotta ponies wanted to hurt him.

Maybe his motives aren’t entirely selfish? That said if he really had noble intentions, he shouldn’t be going around brutally murdering ponies. If he had just told Blackjack that he’s trying to stop an evil monster from eating everyone she would’ve helped him instead of becoming his enemy.

I mean, I’d given her drugs to try and win… and sure, it’d worked, but now she was paying the price for luring Precious away from Sanguine. Paying the price for my mistake.

What the hell Blackjack? You seriously, gave a child Mint-als? What were you thinking? Did you tell her what they are or did you try to “spare” her the truth?
Again, confirming that she would be a lousy parent.

You’re not allowed to think of yourself as a big lump of stupid till you get somepony who doesn’t deserve it killed, okay young lady?

So not until Chapter 15 of Homelands. Got it!

where I was only hurt for an hour or so, he was hurt his entire life. It’s hard. That hurt doesn’t go away. He has to carry it wherever he goes.

This is the same mare, who just a month ago didn’t even understood why any sane stallion would ever want to leave Stable 99. Blackjack really has come a long way.

“Studs?” Rampage suggested with a grin.
“I hate you, you know that?” he muttered.
“No you don’t,” she replied. “You don’t like that I don’t take what happened to you as seriously as you do.”

Nice to see the rest of the group starting to like eachother.
They both tried to cope with their traumas in different ways. Rampage acts carefree and lives in the moment. P-21 became reserved and bitter.

“I think that you’ve got something no stallion in 99 had: a chance at knowing your own children. And you are terrified of fucking it up. And as one expert on fuck ups to another… you are fucking it up. She’s a smart girl. She knows you’re her father, and she wants you in her life. But a few more months… maybe even a few more weeks of you ignoring it… and she won’t want you anymore.”

A surprisingly sound advice from Blackjack. It makes me dislike her a little bit less.

I knew that what she wanted was the right thing to do, but a nasty little part of me muttered in the back of my mind, insisting that giving Scotch the PTM was also the right thing to do. And no matter how much I tried, I couldn’t quite shut it up.

Again, what the hell Blackjack? It’s not going to be funny anymore if she actually develops an addiction.

Scotch folded her forelegs on the table. “Nope. Boring! Putting me to sleep.” She started to snore loudly.
“Look, Scotch, I’m not saying--”
“Bor… snnnnrrrgg… ing… Skrrrrrkkk…”

Funny that her opinion about Glory hasn't changed that much even after she grew up.

Homelands spoiler below

What would Glory do’ rattled around in her head. That pegasus, though maybe most boring mare in the Wasteland, had been the smartest of Blackjack’s friends.

Also Glory I object to Glory being the boring one. That’s Lacunae's role.

I put my hooves around the gray pegasus’s waist and tugged her close. “Honestly, considering what’s happened to me so far… I’m glad you’re on the calm and rational side of things.” I pressed my lips to hers, and she made a delightful little murr in the back of her throat.

Wise choice of words. You just avoided spending the next few nights alone on the couch.

Then the door opened and Lacunae walked in. Her purple eyes widened at the mess on the table, the girls peeking out from under it, Glory and I cuddling, and Rampage kissing the green-banded apple.

Thankfully the “Blackjack being depressed again” part was relatively short and then we got some great moments of the group helping eachother with their grief. Followed by them being able to poke fun at eachother and fooling around during breakfast.

The simple fact that P-21 was actually smiling when Rampage tried to kiss him say a lot about how close the group has become. A few weeks ago, he would’ve been genuinely angry, but now he can take it in good fun. And Scotch calling Glory boring feels more like friendly ridicule than her being mean-spirited.

Star House is their home and they are a family. A family that has issues, but cares about each other nonetheless. I hope we get to see more moments like this.

I had to close my eyes. What part of my brain contemplated pinning a filly down or drugging her and forcing her to give up memories… traumatize her to get what I wanted? Was any wrong permissible so long as, in the end, I won? If that were true, then there wasn’t a difference between me and Deus or Sanguine, now was there? He’d taken fillies hostage… killed Priest! Was all that okay simply because he wanted to win? Should I have taken Psychoshy hostage? Killed her just to beat him?

*Looks at Scotch Tape*
Well Blackjack already had a filly drugged and messed with her memories. Just not at the same time and without holding her down.

Her outburst is understandable, but it’s good to see that Blackjack realizes that you better not cross certain lines.

“That is a possibility,” Lacunae said, and I wanted to give a little cheer. “However, it will utterly exhaust my magical reserves. We won’t be able to teleport out if something goes wrong.”

I feel since Lacunae joined the group, Somber always has to come up with a reason why she just can’t fly/teleport the group somewhere and avoiding all the dangers on the way.

Urrrgh… “Maybe a tunnel?” They all looked at me like I was crazy.

Come on, what are the odds that you ruin into something horrible in the tunnels again?
…
Okay with your luck probably 100%.

It pointed its jagged tip right at P-21. “Look out!” I shouted as the entire branch stabbed down, and only my warning and his agile hooves kept him from getting speared.

That was close! A bit slower and P-21 would’ve gotten impaled. Pretty bad way to die.

Wow… out of all the sucky places in the Hoof, I think we’d found the suckiest.

The suckiest for now.

Of course, you know this is a trap,” Glory asked, looking over at me as we walked along after the striped Reaper.
“‘Course. It wouldn’t be Hoofington otherwise,” I answered, looking through the gaps between the trunks.

I fall to understand why knowingly walking into that trap is somehow better than letting Lacunae teleport you all onto the roof.

“Ah… what? No… no no no… they turned me into a Dashite… a Dashite! Not a Dash!” she said in her higher, squeakier voice. “This is impossible. There must be some kind of mistake!”

Gee Somber, I know that you like Dash, but you didn't had to shove her into this story, too.

Glory, who always remained loyal to the Enclave even after everything that happened to her, was turned into the very first Dashite. This is a really cool way to have the Killing Joke mess with her.

“I’m flying! Flying! Woohoo! So awesome!” she cheered in glee as she looped and whirled above the steps. Then, suddenly, she got a haunted look and landed. “No, Glory. You are an Egghead. Egg! Head! I mean… an intellectual!”

Okay I complained about how the humor in this story sometimes feels inappropriate. Especially right after something horrible happened. Yet, I find Glory acting more like Dash – much to her own horror – hilarious. Make no mistake, I’m aware that this is a horrible experience for her. Her personality is getting rewritten, turning her into the opposite of who she is. But her reaction to this is priceless.

Guess I’m really a hypocrite.

Speaking about Glory: I realized that by the time she got her wing back, I’m not longer bother by the fact that she lost it in the first part. When it happened, I felt it was horrible. But she has adjusted surprisingly well to both her lost wing and her lost Cutie Mark. Especially since she lived a very sheltered live in the Enclave as daughter of a general. The grey Pega is a one thought mare.

“Burns…” she whimpered, and then she fell over as a jet of yellow-green gas sprayed from her mouth. She started to thrash wildly, a horrible noise coming from her throat as she flopped and fell to her side. But worst of all was the smell. It was a smell I could smell in my sleep, and it came to me now in horrible freshness: the acrid stench of chlorine.

While Glory’s fate at least was a bit humorous, if you like dark humor, this is outright horrifying. Guess the Killing Joke knows that Scotch once, in a fit of anger/desperation, wished that she had died with the rest of her stable and is now “granting” this wish. By having her die in the exact same way. There's a reason why this plant is named after a very famous Batman comic, featuring one of the Joker's most iconic moments.

She grabbed Lacunae, “You’ve got BJ’s memories and stuff, right, and still a lot of radiation energy?” The alicorn nodded warily. “Teleport us to the Fluttershy Medical Center! The surgical room! Now!”

Feels like most of the times Lacunae can use her teleport abilities it’s used as a convenient way to split up the group.

Quick thinking from Glory. Let’s see if Scotch will call her boing again. She will! Although, I do wonder, what they can actually do to help her. With her lung now producing Chlorine she has minutes to life at best. The probably have to remove the organ and use Hydra the have her grow an new one. I just hope the have time to sedate her before the operation.

He jumped aside as I slammed into them. A moment later there was another throaty blast that nearly knocked me back out into the squirming blue vines. I lay there on my back, closing my eyes. Oh sweet Celestia, was I sore.

Glory turned into somepony that’s the complete opposite of her and stands for everything she dislikes. Scotch is about to suffer the same fate as the rest of Stable 99. Blackjack… get’s hooves that are causing explosions for some reason. Compared to what happens to the others this feels very random.

From the office behind me came a firm ‘Thump’.

Using grenades is a lot easier when your team mates are immortal or almost indestructible. Don’t need to worry about stuff like friendly fire.

“And if you’re looking for our legal department, they’re located on the fourth floor… office hours eleven fifty eight to eleven fifty nine, Griffin Standard Time!” Flim added with a wide grin.
The pair then sang out, “So we’ve got opportunity in each and every community! He’s Flim! He’s Flam! We’re the world famous Flim-Flam Brothers!”
Then the projector flickered and died. The three of us stared blankly at the wall and I murmured softly, “Well, now I have a better idea why the world blew up like it did.”

That right here is exactly the kind of dark humor you see in a Fallout game.

“I’m more interested in if you have any of that antivenom Glory made…” P-21 said weakly. “Really really really interested.”

Stallions. Can’t even take a little bit of poison.

Better give him the antivenom fast, Blackjack. He's started to look blue.

A wide, cheesy grin met my eyes; her pupils were different sizes and pointed in opposite directions. ‘I’m an egghead,’ read the plaque. My eyes narrowed as I tapped the figurine’s head, making it wobble and bobble around wildly. It wasn’t a statuette, just a cheap plastic knockoff.

This chapter has aged really well. A few years later Flim and Flam would actual own a business in the show (although a casino instead of a research institute) and sell cheaply made dolls to unsuspecting customers.

Blackjack’s On-screen Body Count: Still156

----------------------------------

First 700,000 words done. Only one million more to go.

I expected this chapter to be one of the really depressing ones, after everything that happend in the previous one. Surprisingly that wasn’t the case. In fact, this turned out to be one of my favorite chapters so far. Instead of everyone being gloomy and miserable all time, we actually saw the group being there for each other. It felt really nice. The story could need more parts like this.

Of course, there’s still the horrible stuff that happened to Glory and Scotch, but that pretty tame compared to the really horrible stuff in some other chapters. Yes, having your lungs producing Chlorine and slowly killing you isn't so bad in PH. Besides the story immediately switched back to comedy with shady business venture run by the Flim Flam Brothers. Unlike some other comedic scenes, this part didn’t feel too silly or out of place because it's the kind of dark humor you expect from Fallout, where companies are run by stupidity and greed.

That was close! A bit slower and P-21 would’ve gotten impaled. Pretty bad way to die.

Potential spoiler below.
th.bing.com/th/id/R.59133f5f268f35e93853ef889e6d62bb?rik=ctdScw8EAutd%2fQ&pid=ImgRaw&r=0

Now why does Flux sound so familiar.
Also I can't believe killing joke made Glory into Rainbow Dash. Honestly I would be fine if she stayed that way since she's 20% cooler anyways

The Hoofington rain was pouring on the roof again. I was warm and dry, thanks to this gift from Priest. And here I was, moping and letting his killer get away. I thought of Dusty dying in my hooves and how disgusted she would have been. What is wrong with me , I thought as I clenched my eyes shut. Get up! Move your legs, you fucking loser! You fucking reject! You couldn’t save Scoodle! You couldn’t save 99! You can’t save anypony lying in bed, you dumbass! Move! Move! Go! Do what you have to do! Do it!

This scene…despite Blackjack being in this spot many times before, the power of the writing keeps me engaged. I can feel her pain in my bones.

A part of me wanted to scream. This was what we had to do to win! I knew that Sanguine was probably rigging as many traps and perils as he could in the tunnels. Maybe if we gave her some Moon Dust or something we could make her tractable enough that she’d cooperate. I really didn’t want to have to pin her down while Lacunae dug around in her head for... what we…

What the fuck was wrong with me? Seriously… what the fuck?

YIKES! Blackjack has already (mostly) lost her body. If she’s not real careful, she’s going to lose her soul next. It’s a bit of an understatement to say this is concerning.

As smoothly as if he still wore his PipBuck, P-21 brought Persuasion up in his jaws and fired a clean forty millimeter grenade right into the gaping maw of the one bearing down on him. As it slammed into him, he rolled smoothly onto his back and kicked it over and away. The wooden creature scrambled up, and then the grenade exploded and blew the snarling head into so many toothpicks.

What a badass. The only thing missing is him slow walking away from the timber wolf and not even flinching when it explodes behind him.

“What just happened?” Rampage asked, and I reached out a hoof to her to steady myself. And just like that, Rampage exploded. The striped mare blew apart in a cloud of shrapnel, her metal barding smashing into me and sending me flying into one of the tractors. Which exploded, showering us all with debris. A large chunk of rusty metal fell upon me and I heaved it away… only to have it explode as well. I staggered to the side, my body battered and my legs wobbling beneath me. I fell, and the ground beneath me exploded like a landmine. I finally just curled up into a ball, feeling battered and broken and terrified to take another step.

Ok, I swear when I made that Micheal Bay joke I had no idea that this was coming!

”Rainbow Dash was an idiot!”

Oh no Glory….no no no…

She clenched her eyes closed. “Hydrogen. Helium. Lithium. Beryllium. Boron. Carbon. Oxygen… wait… no… I forgot nitrogen!” she gasped. “I forgot nitrogen!” She grabbed P-21 and shook him in panic. “How could I forget nitrogen ? Any second now I’m going to be obsessed with racing and the Wonderbolts!” she cried as she hovered in the air.

Cutest panic attack ever. Seriously though, this mental overwrite possibility is quite scary, and nopony other than Glory herself seeming to acknowledge it at all just makes it worse.

The pair then sang out, “So we’ve got opportunity in each and every community! He’s Flim! He’s Flam! We’re the world famous Flim-Flam Brothers!”

Yeah, that Flim-Flam film was absolutely perfect.

Rampage pointed at Flim’s desk as P-21 started to work on Flam’s terminal. “Hey, Blackjack. Isn’t that one of those figurine thingies you collect?” For an instant, I imagined I heard five little ponies in my head gasp in excitement… or maybe it was just me!

I blinked and stared. There, smiling brightly at me, was the vivid purple figure of Twilight Sparkle. Slowly, I approached with a smile. Could it be? Was it possible? I carefully scooped it up in my hooves and hugged it to my chest. “At last! It’s Twi--” I frowned and pulled it away, looking down. A wide, cheesy grin met my eyes; her pupils were different sizes and pointed in opposite directions. ‘I’m an egghead,’ read the plaque. My eyes narrowed as I tapped the figurine’s head, making it wobble and bobble around wildly. It wasn’t a statuette, just a cheap plastic knockoff.

OH COME ON!!! That’s just mean!

I rolled my eyes and started jumping. “Look! It’s fine! Just fine! Nothing’s happ--”

With a roar, the floor exploded beneath me, tossing me into the ceiling... which also exploded! I plummeted down the dark elevator shaft, and with a shriek of twisted metal the elevator broke loose and plunged down after me.

Ha... ha... ha...

Lunadamnit! She really, really, REALLY could have used a genuine, cannot be duplicated, manipulated, copied or knocked off Limited Edition Ponies of Harmony Twilight Sparkle statuette right then!

I just wanted to win.

This sentence is extremely disturbing and I fear for what blackjack could become
Speaking of which, what made her think like that? The cyberpony parts? Taint? Is she really losing her mind this time?

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Just watch out for the next 10 chapters, because trust me, BJ's about to go off the deep end.

Blackjack wanted to take the faster route via the elevator, and she did. It was pretty dumb, even for her, to tempt fate like that. I'll chalk it up to head trauma, caused by the countless explosions.

A few chapters ago I commented how it's hard to stop reading this. At this point I think I cannot pull away, gonna read it till the end.